Startups

There is a simple reason the drug trade is so lucrative: Government mandates create a market opportunity for businesses willing to shirk the law. In the technology and venture capital world, this principle has not gone unnoticed. Some of the highest profile recent start-ups were built to exploit unmet consumer demand created by regulatory restrictions. Uber and Airbnb, for instance, have prospered because taxis are hard to find, and hotels are expensive and heavily taxed, while there are plenty of ordinary people with extra automobile capacity and rooms to rent. As technology know-how becomes less expensive and more pervasive, some start-ups “innovate” not by improving...

Related "Startups" Articles

There is a simple reason the drug trade is so lucrative: Government mandates create a market opportunity for businesses willing to shirk the law.
In the technology and venture capital world, this principle has not gone unnoticed. Some of the highest...

The gig: Jeff Potter, 54, is chief executive of Surf Air, a Santa Monica start-up that operates a members-only luxury jet service offering unlimited trips throughout California and to Las Vegas. The company is negotiating agreements for flights to Phoenix...

Demand Media Inc., the Santa Monica company behind websites such as eHow.com and Livestrong.com, added Saatchi Art to its collection for $17 million and named the start-up’s top executive as its CEO.
Sean Moriarty said he would bring focus, experience...

Tired of staring at his phone screen all day, Gabe Grifoni set out to return “humans back to being humans” by creating a smarter screen. Grifoni designed the Rufus Cuff, a giant wrist-worn screen that he hopes someday will replace the need for...

YouTube wants more small businesses to purchase advertising on its website, and that's why this week it acquired Directr, a Boston start-up.
Directr's technology makes it simple for businesses to create videos, which can be used as YouTube...

Twelve weeks ago, six start-ups from around the world came to Warner Bros. Entertainment in Burbank with one common goal: to develop products for the entertainment industry.
As participants of Media Camp, an accelerator program led by Turner Broadcasting...

Online payments company Square announced Monday that it has acquired Caviar, a San Francisco food-delivery start-up. The deal is reportedly worth $90 million, all in stock.
Caviar specializes in providing delivery services for restaurants that do not...

Taboola, a New York online advertising and publishing start-up, has acquired Pasadena-based rival Perfect Market.
The terms of the sale were not disclosed but the acquisition brings together two start-ups that provide services for increasing traffic...

The gig: Billy O'Grady, 31, heads the Southern California technology and venture capital banking group at City National Bank. Based in Santa Monica, O'Grady advises technology start-ups and their employees on banking and wealth management decisions. He...

A food delivery service named Caviar launched in Los Angeles on Wednesday, part of a crop of start-ups that are innovating the dining experience.
The San Francisco company has ventured into eight metropolitan areas with the L.A. entry, offering a courier...

A law firm, a marketing agency and a software development company have formed a joint venture based in Los Angeles to incubate startups building products and services in line with the needs of major businesses, including video game publishers and...

Seeing little competition and questionable demand, Internet service providers have shrugged at spending the billions of dollars needed to boost U.S. Internet speeds to match other parts of the world.
But efforts by Google Inc. and a few cities...

Flexible work arrangements and better prospects to grow their skills could attract thousands of recently laid off employees at Microsoft to jobs at startups.At least that’s what helped persuade Chandra Shekaran, a general manager in Microsoft’s Bing...

Thirty-five start-ups are vying for a $213,000 prize this week in Santa Monica at the Siemer Summit, a conference for entrepreneurs and investors.
A total of 10 "WaveMaker" awards are scheduled to be given away, including the Silicon Beach...

A new Los Angeles venture capital fund was among 78 funds nationwide to raise money in the second quarter of 2014, the largest number of funds pulling in money since 2007, according to the National Venture Capital Assn. and Thomson Reuters.
Though the...

Victorious, a mobile platform designed to better connect YouTube stars with their fans, has officially launched.
The Santa Monica start-up puts video creators in control of their brands by giving each his or her own unique app. The apps will be available...

Imprint Venture Lab is looking for creative entrepreneurs with ideas for consumer goods, food, apparel and social-good businesses that have the potential to become iconic brands.
The Long Beach-based incubator has up to $3 million to invest in a...

I was watching from inside my shiny tower in London’s financial district the day that Lehman Bros. collapsed. Bankers were walking out the revolving doors clutching files and family photos, economic refugees in well-cut suits. The party was over. Of...

SAN FRANCISCO — Venture capital rising to levels not seen since 2001. Companies with no profits going public. Billions of dollars being paid for start-ups.
These and other signs that the tech boom may be taking an irrational turn are leading some notable...